Looking back 10 years to the summer of 1990, I fondly recall the pleasure trip my wife and I took in our light twin-engine airplane to Europe and back. It was a year in the planning; four wonderful weeks and 12 countries later, I felt a sense of aviation accomplishment—and I think that Lois felt a real sense of relief! It was the first time in my life that I had ever taken four weeks in a row off work, and probably only did it for the challenge and thrill of such an endeavor. Just two months later, I sold my airplane, left New York City, and joined AOPA as its third president.
A decade later, I still think fondly of that trip, but now find myself immersed in aviation to a degree that I never imagined—working for you, the members of AOPA. It's been a busy summer season, not as exciting as the European trip, but satisfying from the standpoint of being able to participate in many things that protect and shape general aviation for the new millennium. In this month's space, I'd like to share just a few of the noteworthy items.
First, a Sen. McCain update. At this writing I have not heard from the Senate Commerce Committee as to the status of its approval of my presidential nomination to the 15-member FAA Management Advisory Council (MAC). I have been very gratified by the unsolicited outpouring of AOPA member letters not only to McCain, but to other members of the committee. I have answered to the best of my ability two sets of follow-up questions from the committee. It is interesting to note that those who support aviation user fees, or were not asked the question that got me in trouble with the senator, haven't had to go through this additional interrogation.
From our intelligence, I consider my nomination dead—killed by the powerful chairman because of a disagreement over our differing positions on aviation user fees. The disappointment is not personal, but the failure to represent GA aircraft owners and pilots on a council that AOPA supported as an idea some six years ago is frustrating. Rest assured that your association has often been more effective working outside of similar councils and commissions; indeed, we were not even considered in the past. In seeking some advice on Capitol Hill, one senator indicated that with the November elections almost upon us, pursuing the MAC right now is like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
In mid-July an AOPA technical staffer and I traveled to Alaska to see the FAA Capstone demonstration program up close and personal. Capstone was heavily supported by AOPA, after we got involved in revising the original FAA goals to make sure they would be useful to the entire aviation community. A total of 160 aircraft are being equipped at government expense with a package of UPS Aviation Technologies (UPSAT) avionics that allow the testing of these concepts in actual flight.
The test site was Bethel, Alaska—in the remote southwest region of the state. I found it to be the perfect environment in which to perform this experiment, because of the lack of local radar coverage and the heavy mix of Special VFR and IFR traffic. Almost a dozen charter operators, using planes ranging from Cessna 172s to Caravans and Piper Navajos, are participating. A unique universal access transceiver (UAT) provides the two-way datalink between aircraft and the ground, and between equipped aircraft. Most of the airplanes don't have transponders because there is no radar to send an interrogation signal. But with datalink and automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B), the airplane's position, altitude, and other information is sent to the Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center for display, as well as to other Capstone-equipped aircraft. In the future, this could replace on-board transponders and expensive ground-based radar. Soon, in response to an AOPA request, pilots flying these same Alaska airplanes will be able to view weather radar images from the National Weather Service and textual weather.
Under a 900-foot ceiling with 5 miles' visibility, I flew in a Cessna 206 with this equipment, spotting traffic on the brilliant UPSAT MX-20 five-inch color display just as if I had ground-based radar in the aircraft. Hot dogs and hamburgers from AOPA at an evening barbeque for some 25 of these pilots gave us a chance to hear their thoughts about this new technology. Many of the pilots praised the terrain features of the system, allowing them to predict whether or not they could clear the ridges and hills ahead when visibility is limited. Two aircraft at AOPA headquarters have just had this equipment installed, and a UAT ground station has been placed in our building to allow test flights in the Washington, D.C., area.
Also during the summer, AOPA staff and I attended several meetings at FAA headquarters addressing the land-and-hold-short (LAHSO) rules. Through intense negotiations, sprinkled with some doses of common sense, we averted a very negative headline that would have read, "GA excluded from land-and-hold-short operations at major airports." Instead, we got a new procedure all pilots can live with, and one that has little impact on those of us who fly light airplanes. The issue is mainly centered on airline procedures at major hub airports. But we didn't want to compromise those GA pilots who fly primarily at airports without air carrier service and that utilize LAHSO for more efficient service.
So with the summer almost over, and my European challenge 10 years in the past, it's rewarding to reflect on the challenges and opportunities that AOPA faces almost every day. Some are political in nature, like McCain; others futuristic like the datalink and ADS-B experiments in Alaska—and a few are defensive, like countering anti-GA thinking in the original LAHSO rules. No matter what, there is a dedicated staff of people working for you year-round, and they're proud of what they do.
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